Music for Beer Snobs
One of us will turn 30 this year. We're pretty decidedly not in high school or college anymore. Maybe our tastes are getting better with age. . . maybe not. (Mark was there too, but he came late.) I'm not a wine snob yet, maybe (hopefully?) I never will be, but I am kind of a beer snob, (I do enjoy a good Oly from time to time) and I am kind of a coffee snob. I'm beginning to feel like I kinda sorta know what's good, but I also still enjoy some serious guilty pleasures. It's a good time in life, no doubt. Here's my soundtrack for it.
I lack the ambition and editing software to mimic Logan's soundcloud streamer, so here's a lazy youtube playlist with a song from each of my top ten albums. I took artistic liberties with the order instead of counting down from ten to one. So play it and read, or read it then play, or do whatever you want.
Didn't make the cut but almost, and worth mentioning:
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Arcade Fire - Suburbs
The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
10. Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude/Sit Down, Man
My 10 spot seems destined for an album from a Wesleyan band that probably won't hold up well. But wait, this time there are two albums! Das Racist was prolific this year, which probably happens when you don't finish songs and/or edit them. It seems unlikely that anyone else will like Das Racist, or the ones that will already do, so I won't waste many words. Hipster Rap? Hipster Hop? American Rapperal? Their crazy as eff Ek Shaneesh is the last video in my youtube playlist.
9. The Black Keys - Brothers
I know, yawn. Brad likes the Black Keys. Next. (Ten Cent Pistol is song 2 [woohoo] on the TRL Countdown, uhh whatever.)
8. B. Dolan - Fallen House, Sunken City
Activist rap from a white guy with a beard. Am I jealous, maybe. Check out a (sorta) live version of his ode to Marvin Gaye at number 8 on the vidplist. Then check out B. Dolan's awesome knowmore.org. Yeah, Ethical Consumerism!
7. The Walkmen - Lisbon
This album is all about restraint. Sorta like The Walkmen only allowed themselves to write songs during the rain and only use the bottom 3 frets on the guitar neck. And only record on equipment invented before 1940. Hey, sometimes less is more. Woe is Me is the 6th video, even though it's just the song with a picture of their album cover.
6. Black Milk - Album of the Year
You might see the name of this album and think, wait, why does Brad have it at 6, I'm confused. Or you might think, oh another egotistical rapper. Or you might think, chocolate milk is tasty, more Ovaltine please. Well whichever one of those you think you'd be wrong, or only partly right. Or confused.
Album of the Year (not The Wild Hunt by Tallest Man on Earth, that comes later. SPOILER ALERT! but the album by Black Milk) is about the 365 days between the release of Tronic and the beginning of work on this new album. So. . . Album, of the Year. See what he did there?
The intro song 365 is near the end, coincidentally, of my playlist. It checks in at number 9.
5. The National - High Violet
High Violet has a sort of gray beauty, Matt Berninger's effortless, emotionless delivery is at odds with the invested pleading of his lyric and the driving syncopated pulse of the percussion. All of this shines through especially well on song Bloodbuzz Ohio, the first single dropped. Yeah, it's not quite Alligator or Boxer, at times it lacks the energy that was present despite the subdued nature of The National's last two albums. But it's still The National, and by no means a disappointment. The aforementioned Bloodbuzz Ohio is the seventh video on the old list. I'm not sure if it's intentionally funny, but. . . well.
4. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
Tourist History is Two Door Cinema Club's debut album, and it's polished. The dudes who make up TDCC are obviously well-versed in the recent UK indie scene. Listening to their album brings out the flavors of their influences, I get some Bloc Party and surprising and pleasant Talking Heads notes.
This album's probably good for anyone who's not a huge cynic, so yeah, I guess I can't really recommend it to anyone who reads this blog. But if you feel up to it all you gotta do is click on play, their Something Good Can Work is the first song on my playlist. The video ain't bad either.
3. Janelle Monae - The Archandroid
Wow. A debut LP of epic proportions. Mainstream music hasn't seen an album this ambitious since The White Album. (exaggeration!) But seriously, there's good stuff here, and lots of it. I doubt this is the last we'll hear from miss Monae. I included the awesome video for Tightrope at number 3 on the playlist.
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
I absolutely loved Frightened Rabbit's last album, Midnight Organ Fight. So, as you can imagine my level of anticipation for 2010's The Winter of Mixed Drinks was sky high. Amazingly, it nearly met my expectations. TWoMD is more contemplative and less openly expressive than Midnight Organ Fight. The single Swim Until You Can't See Land is featured at number 4 on my playlist.
1. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
The Tallest Man on Earth is a Swede and his guitar. Or banjo, or piano. The obvious comparison here is to Dylan. It's pretty much the first thought that comes to mind when anyone hears Kristian Matsson's raw gravelly croon over the top of his oh so acoustic strums. And I guess the comparison is apt, here's a guy whose voice sounds terrible, who plays with purpose, whose lyrics sometimes don't make much literal sense. And he's captivating. His soulful You're Going Back is song 5 on the playlist.
I lack the ambition and editing software to mimic Logan's soundcloud streamer, so here's a lazy youtube playlist with a song from each of my top ten albums. I took artistic liberties with the order instead of counting down from ten to one. So play it and read, or read it then play, or do whatever you want.
Didn't make the cut but almost, and worth mentioning:
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Arcade Fire - Suburbs
The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
10. Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude/Sit Down, Man
My 10 spot seems destined for an album from a Wesleyan band that probably won't hold up well. But wait, this time there are two albums! Das Racist was prolific this year, which probably happens when you don't finish songs and/or edit them. It seems unlikely that anyone else will like Das Racist, or the ones that will already do, so I won't waste many words. Hipster Rap? Hipster Hop? American Rapperal? Their crazy as eff Ek Shaneesh is the last video in my youtube playlist.
9. The Black Keys - Brothers
I know, yawn. Brad likes the Black Keys. Next. (Ten Cent Pistol is song 2 [woohoo] on the TRL Countdown, uhh whatever.)
8. B. Dolan - Fallen House, Sunken City
Activist rap from a white guy with a beard. Am I jealous, maybe. Check out a (sorta) live version of his ode to Marvin Gaye at number 8 on the vidplist. Then check out B. Dolan's awesome knowmore.org. Yeah, Ethical Consumerism!
7. The Walkmen - Lisbon
This album is all about restraint. Sorta like The Walkmen only allowed themselves to write songs during the rain and only use the bottom 3 frets on the guitar neck. And only record on equipment invented before 1940. Hey, sometimes less is more. Woe is Me is the 6th video, even though it's just the song with a picture of their album cover.
6. Black Milk - Album of the Year
You might see the name of this album and think, wait, why does Brad have it at 6, I'm confused. Or you might think, oh another egotistical rapper. Or you might think, chocolate milk is tasty, more Ovaltine please. Well whichever one of those you think you'd be wrong, or only partly right. Or confused.
Album of the Year (not The Wild Hunt by Tallest Man on Earth, that comes later. SPOILER ALERT! but the album by Black Milk) is about the 365 days between the release of Tronic and the beginning of work on this new album. So. . . Album, of the Year. See what he did there?
The intro song 365 is near the end, coincidentally, of my playlist. It checks in at number 9.
5. The National - High Violet
High Violet has a sort of gray beauty, Matt Berninger's effortless, emotionless delivery is at odds with the invested pleading of his lyric and the driving syncopated pulse of the percussion. All of this shines through especially well on song Bloodbuzz Ohio, the first single dropped. Yeah, it's not quite Alligator or Boxer, at times it lacks the energy that was present despite the subdued nature of The National's last two albums. But it's still The National, and by no means a disappointment. The aforementioned Bloodbuzz Ohio is the seventh video on the old list. I'm not sure if it's intentionally funny, but. . . well.
4. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
Tourist History is Two Door Cinema Club's debut album, and it's polished. The dudes who make up TDCC are obviously well-versed in the recent UK indie scene. Listening to their album brings out the flavors of their influences, I get some Bloc Party and surprising and pleasant Talking Heads notes.
This album's probably good for anyone who's not a huge cynic, so yeah, I guess I can't really recommend it to anyone who reads this blog. But if you feel up to it all you gotta do is click on play, their Something Good Can Work is the first song on my playlist. The video ain't bad either.
3. Janelle Monae - The Archandroid
Wow. A debut LP of epic proportions. Mainstream music hasn't seen an album this ambitious since The White Album. (exaggeration!) But seriously, there's good stuff here, and lots of it. I doubt this is the last we'll hear from miss Monae. I included the awesome video for Tightrope at number 3 on the playlist.
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
I absolutely loved Frightened Rabbit's last album, Midnight Organ Fight. So, as you can imagine my level of anticipation for 2010's The Winter of Mixed Drinks was sky high. Amazingly, it nearly met my expectations. TWoMD is more contemplative and less openly expressive than Midnight Organ Fight. The single Swim Until You Can't See Land is featured at number 4 on my playlist.
1. The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
The Tallest Man on Earth is a Swede and his guitar. Or banjo, or piano. The obvious comparison here is to Dylan. It's pretty much the first thought that comes to mind when anyone hears Kristian Matsson's raw gravelly croon over the top of his oh so acoustic strums. And I guess the comparison is apt, here's a guy whose voice sounds terrible, who plays with purpose, whose lyrics sometimes don't make much literal sense. And he's captivating. His soulful You're Going Back is song 5 on the playlist.
posted by b r christensen at 1/18/2011 10:51:00 AM
4 comments
With Pantha du Prince flirting with cross-over appeal by joining up with Rough Trade and Efdemin releasing a lackluster follow-up to his self-titled album, it was starting to look like a not so happy 10 year anniversary for dial records (minus the hugely influential plug by yours truly, of course). Redemption came in the unlikeliest of places: John Roberts, the lone American on the label roster. While Pantha was out in the Swiss Alps trying to capture the sounds of nature in a bottle [I imagine Martin Hannett in 24 Hour Party People], Roberts was ransacking his grandmother's attic for vintage samples. Glass Eights sounds like if Trent Reznor went deep house: it is a delicately textured record of elegiac vinyl crackles and out-of-time piano snippets, evoking a feeling of nostalgia for an imagined past.
A serendipitous discovery while trawling music blogs - I think I was drawn in by the album cover font - Tesla Boy is a Russian trio (now duo -- another record looking increasingly unlikely) who sounds like Cut Copy or the Presets minus all of the modern technological flourishes and contemporary sensibilities. It's curious that bands at the geographic peripheries seems to be latching onto 80s synth revivalism years after it was fashionable stateside (anyone remember The Killer vs. The Bravery feud? Anyone? Buller?) -- not that I am complaining when Modern Thrills features such gloriously melodic hooks and and trashy dance-floor breakdowns. Completely derivate, but compulsively listenable.
Artist in releasing a collection of unbelievable pop gems that barely makes a dent in American popular culture shockah. File it as case number infinity in why payola still dictates Billboard charting or why, as Das Racist uncovered, Lady Gaga "is so clearly an illuminati." Just compare two cameos by now gun-for-hire Snoop Dog: the unbearably gaudy "California Gurls" and the deliciously brassy "U Should Know Better". The prosecution rests. You can't blame Robyn for not trying: she released three back-to-back-to-back EPs stuffed to the gills with electro-pop anthems. And while the Body Talk album proper cherry-picks the (arguably) best material in a single package, I personally do not find it quite as perfectly sequenced as the flawless Body Talk Pt. 2. Did I mentioned that Robyn covers "
I need to resign myself to the fact that perpetual cocktease Damon Albarn is never going to carry through with the promise of another Blur album. The question now is should I even care? Although it is unmistakably a Gorillaz record (as odd as that sounds for a fictions band), Plastic Beach is the surprising spiritual successor to Think Tank, ditching the borrowed productions of The Automator and Danger Mouse for Damon's increasing obsession with thrift-store Casio beats. Judging by the fly-by-night iPad album The Fall, Albarn is constitutionally incapable of not producing music. A blessing and a curse, I imagine -- which is probably why this current crop of songs is exuberantly melancholy. And while nothing on this record moves the needle quite as much as "Feel Good Inc." or "D.A.R.E.", all the songs feel like they are stitched from the same synthetic cloth -- unlike those of the previous two albums, which played more like disparate genre-exercises. Parting truth bomb: Damon Albarn is the most talented pop songwriter of the past two decades.
2005 feels like many lifetimes ago. Back then, I caught Four Tet playing a disappointing set of songs at Coachella that would eventually become his counter-expectation album Everything Ecstatic. It seemed like everything Kieran Hebden had done since then was to try and escape from the sound he perfected on Pause and Rounds. As fine as his series of improvisational records with jazz drummer Steve Reid might be, there was always the nagging feeling that Hebden was playing Prince Hal just for the sake of rebelliousness. I guess I would do the same if I were saddled with the label "folktronica." So it comes as a great relief that There Is Love In You is a return to form, meaning it still sounds like the Secret of Mana soundtrack albeit with more looped-vocals and four-grounded (tee-hee!) four-on-the-floor (okay, I'll stop) club beats. The prodigal son has even managed a bit of a coup: despite their Field-like circular complexity, these lovely tracks are inviting for electronic connoisseurs and neophytes alike.
Like releasing an Oscar-baiting motion picture in the last week of December, The Black Dog slyly crafted an album that would gain a whole new immediacy during the train wreck that is holiday travel. A transparent retort to Eno's seminal ambient album, Music For Real Airports has its prerequisite Foucauldian political dimensions: a critique of how, quoting the artist themselves: "airports have become microcosms of a future society, the totalitarian theocracy of the capitalist pay off in postmodern thinking, extreme marketing and control methods." The album, however, really gains its velocity in its subjective exploration of the liminal spaces of the airport -- of the bleary-eyed procession through that odd limbo which manages to transform the trivial hour delay into the an epic of Wagnerian proportions. Music For Real Airports is a bleak record set to the metronome of a barbiturated heart. Even the brief exhalation of the concluding track is uncut by its title, begging the question whether we ever truly depart from The Black Dog's dystopia.
I completely avoided All Hour Cymbals - partially due to the band name, but mostly because of the Animal Collective comparisons - so when I heard my brother had picked up Yeasayer's 12'' on Record Store Day, I decided to check out Odd Blood for sibling bonding, if nothing else. Little did I know that Yeasayer had been flirting with 80s New Romanticism on their sophomore effort -- and not that cool synth Britannia renaissance that sleeper cell agents The Killers tried to eradicate before it even began, but a revival of those chart-topping polyrhythmic worldbeat New Wave numbers with covers that look like 
I gave Emeralds a token honorable mention nod in my discussion of Choral last year because while I loved three-fourths of their self-titled release, it was unfortunately hunchbacked by a stridently dissonant opening track. For those who are able to track down it down (these dudes release endless amounts of tape), Emeralds will probably be seen in retrospect as a turning point as the trio pivoted away from their tape-scene noise origins to more fully embrace arpeggiated keyboards. The real MVP of Does It Look Like I'm Here? is Mark McGuire, whose textured and melodic guitar lines finally breakthrough the stifling noise and screeching sound effects that pockmarked the more atmospherically inclined What Happened. Anybody who loves his Eno & Fripp guitar tones should also check out his multi-tracked self-released albums such as Living With Yourself or Tidings-Amethyst Waves. The dude just seems like the best bro living the life: jamming and trading his tapes for illicit materials.
Loscil's albums have always orbited around a central visual metaphor and, as you might gather from the title, Endless Falls is no different. And although the record is the perfect soundtrack to rainy Cascadia afternoons, I find my imagination returning to a jellyfish exhibit I saw at Loscil's hometown Vancouver aquarium. Unlike Submers, which felt buried under leagues of ocean water, Endless Falls has an almost aquatic weightlessness to it. Perhaps this is why Loscil was the perfect fit for the iOS hit +-+%C2%ABBlack+Noise%C2%BB.jpg)
This probably looks like a great inevitability, but please take into consideration the deflated expectations that had set-in after all the bad omens that preceded the album. The switch to Rough Trade. The news of a Panda Bear cameo. The middling Behind The Stars 12'' teaser. Surely, Pantha was setting us up for a colossal disappointment. Instead, Hendrick Weber has pulled of a minor miracle: Black Noise is arguably the equal of This Bliss, and in many ways much richer.
